Most Abuse Programs Slice and Dice the Truth

WASHINGTON / January 18, 2011 – The majority of domestic violence education
programs supported by the federal government do not provide a truthful depiction
of the problem of partner abuse, according to a report released today. The
document, “Most DV Educational Programs Lack Accuracy, Balance, and
Truthfulness” concludes that nine out of 10 training, education, and public
awareness programs fail to meet minimum standards of objectivity.

The SAVE report highlights a Centers for Disease Control survey that shows
teenage girls are more likely than boys to be perpetrators of dating violence.
But the Department of Justice inexplicably uses the CDC survey to justify the
need to “engage men and youth in preventing crimes of violence against women,”
according to the DoJ website.

More worrisome are training programs for judges that downplay the existence
of female aggression and short-circuit legal protections. At one New Jersey
seminar, judges were instructed, “Your job is not to become concerned about all
the constitutional rights of the man that you’re violating as you grant a
restraining order.”

“The report documents a long-standing and deeply-entrenched distortion of the
truth,” explains Claudia Cornell, Psy.D. SAVE director. “How can we hope to
bring an end to partner abuse when most agencies are educating the public with
biased and inaccurate information?”

SAVE has established an accreditation program to assure the accuracy of
domestic violence training, education, and public awareness (TEPA) activities.
More information about the TEPA Accreditation Program can be seen here:
http://www.saveservices.org/policymakers/

Christina Hoff-Somers, author of Who Stole Feminism? will be the
keynote presenter at a January 27 press conference to explore the documented
distortions of abuse education programs. Designed to commemorate the Super Bowl
Hoax, the event will take place 12:00 – 1:30pm at the Heritage Foundation, 214
Massachusetts Ave. NE, Washington, DC 20002. Media representatives can register
here: tstoddard@saveservices.org
.

Each year the federal government spends $76 million for domestic violence
training, education, and public awareness programs. Few of these programs adhere
to standards to ensure their information is accurate and valid.